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First Blood

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For the hardcore punk group, see First Blood (band)
First Blood
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Produced by Buzz Feitshans
Written by Novel:
David Morrell
Screenplay:
Michael Kozoll
William Sackheim
Sylvester Stallone
Starring Sylvester Stallone
Richard Crenna
Brian Dennehy
David Caruso
Jack Starrett
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by Orion Pictures Corporation
Release date(s) October 22, 1982
Running time 97 min.
Language English
Budget $14,000,000
Followed by Rambo: First Blood Part II
IMDb profile

First Blood is the first film featuring the character of troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It starred Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle, and Richard Crenna as Col. Samuel Trautman.

Based on a 1972 David Morrell book of the same name, the film (which differs from the book in many areas) was directed by Ted Kotcheff, produced by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, and released on Friday, October 22, 1982.

Taglines:

  • This time he's fighting for his life.
  • A one man war.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film centers on John Rambo, a former member of an elite Special Forces unit in Vietnam and Medal of Honor recipient. Rambo has difficulty adjusting to civilian life and wanders the country as a drifter.

Rambo finds out that a fellow member of his unit died from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure. Shortly after finding out about the loss of his friend, Rambo runs afoul of Will Teasle, the sheriff of a small Washington State mountain resort town called Hope. Teasle arrests Rambo for vagrancy and resisting arrest, and brings him back to the station, where he is beaten by police officers. During the beatings, Rambo has flashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war. Rambo assaults the officers and escapes from the police and heads into the mountains on a stolen motorcycle.

A small band of deputies venture into the woods to capture Rambo. After Rambo incapacitates the deputies using guerrilla war tactics, Teasle calls in the National Guard. Rambo's former commanding officer, Colonel Sam Trautman warns the searchers that it will be dangerous to capture Rambo, due to his combat training and experience.

When the National Guard unit finds Rambo holed up in a mine entrance, they fire a M72 LAW (shoulder-fired rocket launcher) at him. Unbeknownst to his pursuers, Rambo survives the explosion and cave-in. He crawls through tunnels in the mine and finds an exit near a main road. Rambo steals an M60 machine gun from the National Guardsmen and returns to Hope, where he destroys a gas station, telephone junction boxes, power lines, and a local store.

Rambo finds Teasle on the roof of the police station. As Rambo moves towards Teasle to kill him, Colonel Trautman tells him that his mini-war is over. Rambo breaks down sobbing and Trautman convinces Rambo to turn himself in.

[edit] Adaptation issues

Various screenplays adapted from Morrell's book had been pitched to studios in the years since its release, but it was only when Stallone, who at the time had extremely limited success outside of the Rocky franchise (most of his non-Rocky films either barely broke even or were flops altogether), decided to become involved with the project.

Stallone’s star power after the success of the Rocky films enabled him to suggest changes to the script, to make the character of John Rambo more sympathetic. While Morrell's book has the Rambo character kill many of his pursuers, in the movie version, Rambo does not directly cause the death of any police or national guardsmen.

Prior to Stallone taking the role, Steve McQueen was interested in the role. Just before shooting began, Kirk Douglas quit the role of Col. Trautman over a script dispute. Douglas wanted the film to end as the book did, with the death of the Rambo character. Richard Crenna was quickly hired as a replacement; the role of Trautman became the veteran character actor's most famous role. A suicide scene was filmed, but ultimately, Kotcheff and Stallone opted to have Rambo turn himself in at Trautman's urging.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Critics' views

A 1972 TIME review of the novel is believed to have been the first use of the word "carnography".

Film reviewer Chuck O'Leary (from FULVUEDRIVE-IN.COM) lauds First Blood as “...a gripping survival adventure with an emotional ending that's downright moving.” O’Leary also praises composer Jerry Goldsmith’s “excellent musical score." Film critic Almar Haflidason (BBC) notes that Stallone’s training in survival skills and hand-to-hand combat “...helped give the film such a raw and authentic edge that excited the audiences of the time.”

Film reviewer Brian Webster, from the Apollo film site, calls First Blood “...an embarrassingly sloppy production” with a weak script. Film critic Jeremiah Kipp (from filmcritic.com) had a more positive view of the film, which he gave two stars out of four. While Kipp criticized some of the “comic book” dialogue and “macho...mindless escapism” of the film, he acknowledges that it also “...reflect[ed] a new compassion towards traumatized veterans of the Vietnam conflict. As well, Kipp praised Stallone’s acting in the finale, stating that the actor ”...hits his climactic breakdown monologue out of the park” with a performance that was “sweet and moving and mildly incomprehensible.”

[edit] Production

First Blood, which had a modest shooting budget of $14 million, became a major hit, going on to earn an estimated $47 million in North America and $78 million overseas. This success helped to solidify Stallone's career. First Blood also spawned two sequels, with a third expected to be released in 2007.

Entirely shot in the town of Hope, British Columbia, Canada, the film has been criticised for its violent scenes and for its seeming glorification of weapons (such as the M60 which featured prominently in advertising).

[edit] The Rambo series

John Rambo's iconic stature wasn't attained until the popular sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II was released in 1985. Often viewed as much more of an action film than a drama, as the original had been, "Rambo II" was panned by most critics. But that didn't stop the film from being the second-highest grossing film of the year, trailing only Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future. Then-president Ronald Reagan set off a minor controversy when he admitted he admired Rambo. A third Rambo film, Rambo III appeared in 1988, with Stallone's titular character in Soviet-ruled Afghanistan.

[edit] DVD

Author David Morrell recorded an audio commentary track for the First Blood Special Edition DVD released in 2002.

Actor Sylvester Stallone recorded an audio commentary track for the First Blood Ultimate Edition DVD released in 2004. This edition also includes the "never-before-seen" alternate ending.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

de:Rambo (Film) es:Acorralado fi:Rambo – taistelija fr:Rambo it:Rambo nl:First Blood ja:ランボー pl:Rambo pt:Rambo ru:Первая кровь (фильм) sv:First Blood zh:第一滴血

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